NU Online News Service, Dec. 9, 3:38 p.m. EST

Janice M. Abraham, president and chief executive officer ofUnited Educators, is packing her bags for Sydney, Australia.

The executive will be gone for about four months, working on avolunteer basis for LeapFrog Investments, the world's firstmicroinsurance fund aimed at protecting the poor. The fund buildsand invests in companies that will provide affordable insurance tolow-income people.

"I will be going to talk about the importance of insurance--howto develop a company," Ms. Abraham told NU Online NewsService. "Microfinance is helping the poor gain some wealth.The next step would be insurance, property and life, to make surethese people are not wiped out once they get off the ground."

Microfinance, a concept started in the 1970s by Mohammad Yunuswhile he was a professor in Bangladesh, offers poor people accessto basic financial services such as loans, savings and otherservices. For example, small loans are given to people in poorcountries such as the Philippines, Kenya, Ghana, India, Pakistanand South Africa to build businesses.

Mr. Yunus would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

The microinsurance market has developed to allow people to takethe risk of starting a business and reduce the shock if disasterstrikes. The idea is to alleviate poverty and stabilizeincomes.

"The demand is out there because of microfinance," Ms. Abrahamsaid. According to LeapFrog, clients have grown 28 percent since2006. The size of the market is more than 1 billion people butpenetration is less than 3 percent.

Andrew Kuper, who founded LeapFrog in 2007, has set a goal ofreaching 25 million low-income people in Africa and Asia.

At the Clinton Global Initiative last year, Mr. Kuper saidLeapFrog, "has built a bridge between profits and purpose" and thefund has made it possible for investors to not have to choose"between money and meaning."

Ms. Abraham said she will be traveling to other parts of theworld to spread the message. She intends to write a blog about herexperiences.

"Microinsurance is a social mission and it has shown it canwork," Ms. Abraham said. "There are already stories about how thishas protected families or allowed them to make good decisions theywouldn't have otherwise been able to make. I'm excited aboutthis."

Ms. Abraham leaves at the end of January. To follow her blog,visit her page on Facebook.